A Piece of My Heart
by katetastic
Summary: What happens when Lu has to describes pieces of raising Marc, to make sure that their relationship doesn't die? There is more of a description at the end of the chapter! R
1. The Papers

_A/N: Sorry I haven't updated/written in such a long time… I know that I haven't updated The Aftermath in forever, but I know where I want the story to go, but getting it there is the challenge!_

_Also big thanks to my beta _BornForBrianKrause (Cam)_! Enjoy _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing; unfortunately…I would love to own the show, because then I would have kept it going!_

_Rosablasifann08_

Lu's pager buzzed loudly in her pocket. She turned it off, after looking at it, and sighed. She was in the middle of an appointment with a patient, Rose Carter; she couldn't be needed in the E.R. now…

"Rose, sweetie," she said, "they need me in the E.R., so if you don't mind waiting…"

"No, Lu, I wouldn't," said Rose. "How long do you think it will take?"

"I can never guess," Lu answered. "But since this is just a physical, we could just finish tomorrow. If you want to reschedule, just tell Lana out at the front desk, and she will fit you in." Lu struggled into her lab coat and rushed away.

As she walked quickly past Lana's desk, Lana pointed one of her long nails at the young doctor. "That's her, sir, Doctor Luisa Delgado," Lana said to a man. Addressing Lu, she added, "Lu, this man is a DA, and he needs to speak with you."

"Lana," Lu said wearily, "Rose is sitting in my office right now, and the E.R. just paged me. So either have her wait, or let her come back tomorrow. Tell this gentleman in the monkey suit to wait for me as well, or just come back another day; unless he is selling something, then tell him to never come back."

Lana raised her eyebrows in surprise. Lu had obviously just ignored everything she'd just said.

"But…" The man's voice trailed off, as she darted away. He sighed and said, "Well, Ms. Hawkins, I will just sit over here and wait for Doctor Delgado until she has the time for me, because it is very important that we discuss what news I bring before the day is out."

"Thank you for your patience," said Lana, and the man walked over to the waiting area.

-

"Who paged Delgado?" Lu called, as she sprinted into the E.R.

"Over here," Nick called back to her. "Three-year-old girl, fell off the monkey bars and hit her head on a rock when she landed. She has a bump on her head, no concussion, but she is conscious."

"No LOC at scene?" Lu asked him.

"No. Her mom just wants you to check her out before they leave. She's all-clear by me, though."

"Of course I will," Lu said, walking over to the girl.

"Hi, Doctor Lu!" the little girl exclaimed, as Lu came over.

"Hi, Sarah, is it okay if I look at this bump on your head?"

The little girl nodded. After examining Sarah, Lu addressed her mother. "Well, Janie, she is going to be just fine; she just has a bump on her head, no concussion, no need for worry."

"Okay, Lu; shall I just give her some children's Tylenol if she gets a headache?"

"Sounds good; just bring her back if she gets dizzy or nauseous." Lu patted Sarah on the arm and walked back to the main clinic.

Upon arriving back, she asked, "Lana, did Rose leave?"

"Sure did, kid. She said that she would call tomorrow and reschedule. Now," Lana added sternly, "that man is waiting for you in your office."

"Okay, thanks, Lana, I guess I'm free for him now. I can't avoid the inevitable. I hope he's not suing us or anything," said Lu.

She sighed and pushed open the door to her office, not really wanting to know what the man wanted from her. The man stood up as Lu entered, and he held out his hand, which Lu shook. "Hi, Doctor Delgado, I am Attorney Jake Koppinger. I am supposed to give you these papers. Please show up at the appointed court date, and if you cannot make it to that date, please call and change the date."

He handed her a fat manila envelope and walked out. Lu pulled the papers out, read the first sentence, and dropped the papers in shock. Lana poked her head in, and entered when she saw Lu picking up the papers, her face white.

"What's wrong, kid?" Lana asked. "What did he want?"

Lu looked into Lana's deep, gentle, warm eyes, her hands shaking. "It's Bill… he wants full custody of Marc."

_A/N: So this story is going to be a bunch of stories of Lu raising Marc…I thought this needed a prologue before I could just launch into the story! I hope you liked it and I hope you will press the little review button down on the bottom of your screen!_

_Xoxo_

_Rosablasifnan08_


	2. Proof Positive

**Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine (only in my dreams.) The plot is mine! **

**A/N: Thank you all for all of the kind word! I hope that this lives up to everyone's expectations! Does anyone know Bill's last name? Because I just made it up, so if anyone knows, please lemme know**.

"Listen, Marc, no matter what, I will always, always love you. I am gonna fight for us to stay the family we are. I wanted you to know that before walked through this door. I also will understand if you don't want to come into the courtroom, because you might not wanna hear everything that you and I went through."

"Ma, I wanna hear what happens. I know that we had a rough start, be we both turned out okay." Lu sighed and walked into the courtroom.

Marc sat in the audience, waiting to see where he would live. Lu sat at the table with her attorney, Jewel. The judge came in and swore both Lu and Bill in.

"Well, Doctor Delgado, I see here that Bill Adams is petitioning for full custody of Marc Delgado," said Judge Strait, looking over the file.

"Yes, Your Honor. Doctor Delgado would also like to talk about the journey she has had with Marc, before you make your decision," Jewel said, standing up.

"Well, I feel that this could be important to the trial, so Dr. Delgado, please take the stand."

Lu stood up and walked nervously across the courtroom. Marc was scared, too; he had never seen his confident mother look so nervous. Lu caught his eye, and winked at him, trying to show how much she loved him. She sat into the witness stand, trying to look confident.

"Well, Doctor, go ahead and tell your story, and remember, what you say will not leave this courtroom," Jewel said trying to calm Lu down.

_-Flashback-_

"_Luisa, is there something you need to tell me?" Isabel asked, her tender eyes carefully watching the sixteen-year-old Lu. Lu looked confused; she hadn't done anything abnormal that day. She and Bill hadn't even "seen" each other that day._

"_Nope… Well, I did fail my history test, but that wasn't a surprise."_

"_Are you sure there isn't something else you need to tell me?"_

"_Positive, Isabel. I am going to go call Bill."_

_-_

_Lu walked into the drugstore that was five miles away from where she lived. In doing this, she felt that no one would see or know what she was buying: a pregnancy test. Not that being pregnant was uncommon, but she didn't want Isabel to know before she did. She went into the drugstore and bought the cheapest one she could, because after all, how different could the more expensive tests be?_

_She quickly caught the bus home and let herself into the apartment, and saw Isabella watching her every move._

_Giving the kind old woman an odd look, Lu said, "Hey Isabel, I was just gonna go do my homework."_

"_Okay, Luisa." Isabel chuckled to herself, knowing that Lu wasn't going to go do her homework. She wished that she could make Luisa see that she wasn't doing the right thing. Lu was a smart girl, but she wouldn't take advantage of it. "Unfortunately, my darling will have to learn the hard way," Isabella said to herself, walking to the closed bathroom door to talk Luisa. Isabella knocked softly on the bathroom door._

"_Come in," Lu replied in a shaky voice. Isabella came in and saw Lu with a positive pregnancy test in her hands and tears rolling down her face._

"_Mi amor..." Isabella said, gathering the young girl into her arms._

_For a while, they simply sat like that: Isabella sitting on the floor, with Lu's head in her lap. Finally, Lu looked up at Isabella and asked the one question she never thought she have to ask. "What should I do now that we know for sure?"_

"_This is a decision that only you can make, and I want you to know that I will support you, whatever you want to do." Lu nodded and slowly stood up off the floor, and said, "I am gonna go call Bill; we will decide what to do together."_

_-_

"_Bill, it is not like I am particularly thrilled about this, either, but it is happening and we need to figure out what to do," Lu said, a week later, sitting on her bed._

"_What do you mean, what are we going to do? We have to get rid of it, get an abortion."_

_Lu sat and thought about it for a while, and realized that she has two choices; she could either a) keep her boyfriend and lose her baby, the child they created together, or b) keep her baby and lose her boyfriend. "Listen, Bill, I have to think about this for a couple of hours, so we can go to the movies and I will think about it?"_

"_Sure, Lu, I understand, you think about it and we can go to a movie or something."_

So they went to the movies and Lu couldn't even tell you the title of the movie (which was Flash Dance by the way.) The whole time she thought about what to do. She knew that she couldn't give this baby the best life, and she knew that Bill was the first boyfriend that she actually cared about it; and she really didn't want to kill her baby, but she didn't know what else to do.

After the movie, they went back to Lu's place, and as soon as they came in, Isabel left the room to give the young couple some privacy, but she stayed within earshot so that she could know what was going on. Bill and Lu sat opposite of each other, so they could really talk.

"_Well, Bill, I have been thinking for a very long time, and I guess I will get an abortion…I mean, I can't be a very good mom right now, and I am just not ready to have the baby, and neither are you. I know a place that they can do it for free. My friend Phoebe went there and said that they were real nice and everything. They didn't judge her or anything."_

"_Well, honey, I am glad that you decided to go ahead with an abortion. I mean, you're right, neither of us could handle this right now, and it wouldn't be good for the baby anyways."_

_-_

_The next week, Isabel drove her to the clinic, and offered to go in with her, but Lu knew that it was something that she needed to do alone. She sat in the waiting room, filling out papers for twenty minutes, and then a nurse called her back. Lu slowly walked back and felt like she was walking to her own death, not her baby's. The nurse was an elderly lady with a kind face._

"_Hi, honey, my name's Kasey, and I will stay with you the whole time. I know how scary this must be for you, and I will answer any questions that you have."_

_Lu took in all the information that she had been given in the past forty-five minutes. "Well I do have one question," Lu spoke up in a rather shy, un-Lu-like voice, "will this hurt?"_

_Kasey smiled; she could tell that Lu wasn't too keen on the idea of getting this done. "It will feel like severe cramping, but it doesn't last long."_

_Lu nodded and followed the woman into an exam room. "Now hop up on this table, and the doctor will be in a few minutes."_

"_Will you be in here with me?" Lu asked, afraid of losing her newfound friend._

"_Honey, I will stay through the whole thing if you want me too." Lu nodded yes, just as the doctor walked in._

"_Hi, I am Dr. Simmons and I will be helping you today. Now just put your legs in the stirrups and we will begin." _

_As soon as Lu put her legs into the cold metal stirrups, she began sobbing. She knew that she just couldn't go through with the abortion. The doctor smiled gently, knowing that Lu couldn't go through with it._

"_Lu, it seems to me that you aren't ready to get this done today; you can still do this safely within the next two months, so if you decided that you want to, you can. Here is the card of an OB/GYN," she said, handing Lu a business card, "that will take care of you for free, and she is really nice. See her if you decide not to go through with this." She patted her Lu's leg and walked out. Kasey walked over to the girl, and held her while she cried._

_Lu looked at her with a tear-stained face, thanked her and walked out of the clinic, feeling better._

_-End Flashback-_

-

Lu was now crying herself, and looked out into the courtroom and saw that Marc was crying as well. "See, Marc, this is why I said you might not wanna know what happened."

Everyone turned to look at Marc. He shook his head no, and said, "I want to know how everything happened; I know it was hard for you, and I am so glad that you didn't decide to get an abortion."

Lu nodded and smiled. "I request a ten minute recess so Lu can gather herself to give more testimony." Jewel said to the judge, trying to prevent Lu from falling apart in front of Marc.

"Court adjourned for the next ten minutes," Judge Straight banged his gavel and everyone filed out.


	3. Cribs and New Friends

A/N: Not as many reviews this time. ( Oh Well. I hope that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I am gonna try to update a lot more, but I tell myself that every time. I like this story a lot, so hopefully this time I will update more faithfully! I think that the next few chapters will just be a flashback. If anything goes back to the courtroom it won't be italics. Also big thanks to Renthead07 for editing this and telling me how to upload without actually uploading!

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_Seven months have elapsed. Lu was now obviously pregnant, and now officially a high school drop out. Lu quit school once she was seven months pregnant. She hated school, twice as much now because of all of the stares that she received from the other people. She didn't like the being the first girl in her grade to be pregnant. She finally decided to drop out when she couldn't fit in the desks anymore._

_Lu walked, or rather, waddled, into her apartment, and found Isabel sitting on the couch, crying, and holding a suitcase._

_"Luisa, as much as I hate to do this to you, I have to. You need to move out. You are pregnant with this baby, and I will baby-sit and everything, but I can't always watch him, and you need to take responsibility of this little guy. I have already paid your rent, and here is some money." Isabel handed her 600 dollars. "You need to spend this on groceries and furnishing the nursery. I am so sorry, Luisa, but this is the only way." Isabel handed her the key and her suitcase. "Your apartment has everything in it except his room, since I thought you would enjoy doing that yourself. Your apartment is two doors down from this one, so I will always be close enough if you need me."_

_Lu nodded, shell-shocked, grabbed the suitcase and the key, and walked out of her apartment. She walked into her new apartment for the first time. It was a small apartment, with a living room and a kitchen. Two bedrooms and a bathroom were off of the side. Lu smiled through her tears when she walked into her room and saw that everything was arranged in the way she had it back in her apartment with Isabel._

_She ran her fingers over her quilt, the one that Isabel gave her on her thirteenth birthday, in honor of becoming a woman. She sat down on her bed, holding her stomach, thinking about the future she and her little baby had._

_While she was sitting and thinking, Bill came into the room. "Knock, knock," Bill called, as he walked into Lu's bedroom._

_"Hey, honey," Lu said, struggling to get up. "How are you?"_

_"I'm fine. Listen Lu, we can't keep going on as a relationship. Here is the four hundred dollars we would have used to pay for the abortion. I'm sorry, Lu." He put the envelope next to her on the bed and walked out. She rolled over and cried into her pillow. She cried herself to sleep that night._

_-_

_Four days later..._

_Lu was walking in the suburbs of Philly, going to a bunch of yard sales. She couldn't afford to shop in the baby stores, or even in the stores like Once Upon a Child. She hated the embarrassment of being a teenage mom while walking down the side walk of all these yuppie moms._

_She saw a yard sale filled with baby things. She walked up the walk and saw a woman about twenty years older than her, with a little boy at her feet. Lu looked around at the things, and was dismayed, because she couldn't afford the beautiful crib and changing table. She did see some clothes that would fit Anthony Luke. That was the name that she had decided on for this week. She changed her mind constantly, ever since she found out that she was going to have a boy._

_She found that she could get ten outfits for five dollars. She looked longingly at the crib set again, and then headed for the table tat the woman set up._

_"Hey, my name is Sandy. Is this all you want? What's your name, honey?"_

_"I'm Lu, Lu Delgado."_

_"Well, Lu, I saw you looking at the crib set over there. We got two, one from each of our parents, so I can lower the price if you want. How much can you afford?"_

_Lu blushed and looked at the bills in her wallet. "I know that you want a hundred dollars for it, but all I can afford is fifty... I understand if that isn't possible."_

_"Well, it is a good thing that I marked it too high, I wanted at least forty, so how about you buy it for fifty, and I throw in a stroller that is just collecting dust? Can you keep an eye on Noah while I go grab it out of the basement?"_

_"Sure…are you sure that it is OK? I mean, that is really cheap for all that great stuff..." Lu trailed off._

_"Of course it is. Hang on, I will be back with the stroller." Sandy walked into her house and grabbed a beautiful stroller. She also came back with a box full of baby things. "Well, Lu, I found this box of baby stuff, and I thought that this and the rest of the stuff would be a good addition for your nursery. Also, I was thinking, since you are due soon, and Noah is only a few months old, and once you have your little boy, I thought they could play once a week or so. Y'all could come here or we can come to your place."_

_"Sure; I live in the inner city in Philly, so it will be a long commute, but it would be nice for little Anthony to have some one to play with."_

_"Well, I can come to you. How about every Friday? Do you have away to get all this stuff to your apartment?"_

_"Not yet, but I am sure that I can figure something out..."_

_"No way; I will get my truck and Noah and I bundled up and we will take you back to your place, OK?" Lu nodded. Sandy quickly spoke to her husband, and she grabbed her keys._

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A/N: This chapter is kinda short, but I needed to introduce Sandy into the story; she will come back, I promise! Hope you liked this chapter! More soon. 

I am trying to update all my stories, plus I wrote a one-shot. The plus side of having nothing to do on spring break!

Don't forget to review!


	4. Labor Pains

**A/N: Sorry if this one has a few extra errors. I couldn't type today, and my beta is out of town! I was gonna have her read it, but I couldn't wait for her to come back to post! Also, I got tired of looking at italics, so if anything goes back to the courtroom, it will be in italics!**

**Renthead07, the doctor's name is just for you! Enjoy!**

Lu was carefully arranging Marc's (her name for the week) things, since she was due in two weeks. She loved the peaceful feeling of the nursery and couldn't wait for her little boy to be in it.

Suddenly she felt a strong cramp in her back. Rolling her eyes, she figured that it was nothing since her back hurt like crazy all of the time. Trying to ignore the pain, she went on making sure that the nursery was possible.

(Three hours later)

Lu started timing the contractions and figured out that they were about ten minutes apart. She waddled down to Isabel's apartment, and let herself in. "Isabel are you here?" Lu called from the doorway.

"In the kitchen, Luisa."

"I need you to take me to county. I think I am in labor." As soon as Lu said it, her water broke. "Scratch that, I am in labor."

Isabel quickly walked into the room. Looked down at the floor next to Lu, and nodded. "Yes, chica you are. We will take a cab down there a.s.a.p."

Lu nodded, and let Isabel walk her out of the apartment.

(About ten hours later at County hospital)

"Come on, Luisa, push." Lu was lying on the bed, after hours of intense labor. Isabel was standing next to her bed holding her hand. "Mi amor, just a little more and then you will have a beautiful baby boy."

Lu shook her head. "I can't do it any more, Isabel, I just can't."

"Come on, Lu, one more big push, and his head will be out; things will be much easier after that! You can do it, I promise." Dr. Stephanie Davis said.

Mustering all of her strength, Lu leaned up and pushed down with all of her might. "Next time you see Bill, Isabel, tell that bastard I said go to hell. I hate him for this."

"Now, Luisa, don't think about Bill, just focus on little Marc."

After a few minutes of the cycle, Dr. Davis could see the head. "Lu, you are doing a great job, I can see his head. One or two more big pushes and you will have a beautiful little boy."

"Mi amor, he is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! Two more pushes for him, do it for your new little baby." Isabel said as she brushed the hair out of Lu's face.

"I hate Bill!" Lu yelled during another contraction. Grimacing she pushed with all her might.

Suddenly, the room was filled with the sounds of a baby's cry. "Amazing job, Lu, I knew you could do it." Dr. Davis said as Isabel cut the cord. "I am going to clean him up and give him the APGAR test and then I will let you hold him."

Dr. Davis gently laid the little boy. "Respiration: two, heart rate: two, appearance: two, activity: two, responsiveness: two. Lu, your baby is a perfect ten. Do you have a name for this cute little guy?" She asked.

Lu nodded, "His name is Marc Anthony Delgado." Dr. Davis walked over with the newborn Marc in her arms. She gently laid the baby into Lu's waiting arms. Lu started to cry once Marc fell asleep in her arms.

"Mi amor, why the tears?" Isabel asked.

Lu shook her head, "Nothing; I just can't believe I did this, and my baby boy is so beautiful. You wanna hold him, Isabel?"

"Of course." Gently Isabel took the sleeping baby into her arms. "Luisa, I am so proud of you." She looked over at Lu and sow that she had fallen fast asleep. Isabel watched her sleep as she rocked Marc to sleep.

(Five days later)

"Ok, Lu, you have the diaper bag we give to all the moms," Lu nodded, "I put an address book in there, with my number in it. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything, and I mean anything. I also took a bunch of pictures, you and Marc, and Marc; those are in there too. Here is the wheelchair you have to ride in." Dr. Davis said as she helped Lu into the wheelchair, and handed Marc to her. She put the diaper bag across the handlebars.

They wheeled out of the room and down into the patient pick up area. "Do you have a ride to your building?"

Lu shook her head. "I was planning on riding the bus."

Stephanie furrowed her brow in concentration. " I don't like the idea of you taking Marc on the bus while he was so young. I think he should at least be a month or two old before you take him on the bus. I will pay for the taxi, and try to keep him home as much a possible. If Bill wants visitation, tell him to wait until he as at least six months old until you let him leave with Marc; until then he can visit with you. It is ok to leave Marc with Isabel if you need groceries or something, but not for long periods of time. I can't think of anything else that is important for you to know. You can wait in the waiting room until your cab gets here."

Twenty minutes later Lu an Marc were in a cab, embarking on their life together.

A/N: The chaper is kinda short, but if I kept going I wouldn't be able to update today, and it would be really long, so I settled for two shorter chapters!


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